Summary
The speaker continues to describe the clothing she wears as a nun. In addition to her habit, she wears a wimple, or head covering, with a lace band sewn by a novice nun. She carries a rosary and a set of keys, and wears a sturdy pair of blue suede shoes. The convent, the speaker says, feels to her like a "Graceland," or a land of grace. This thought makes the speaker smile her hallmark lopsided smile.
She reflects that she is safe, alive, and healthy within the convent. It has been a long time since she suffered heartbreak or loneliness, she says. She quotes Presley's music once again to convey these facts, saying that she has not walked "Lonesome Street" or stayed at the "Heartbreak Hotel" for a long while.
Analysis
A good deal of the poem—more than one stanza—is devoted to a description of what the speaker wears. At first, this may seem simply like a way to emphasize her difference from her brother. While he wore flashy clothes and was known, and derided, for displays of sexuality, this speaker's outfit stresses modesty and utility. However, the last line of the poem's fourth stanza contains a direct reference to the Elvis Presley song "Blue Suede Shoes," reminding readers that the speaker maintains and cultivates a connection to her brother even within the strictures of religious life. On a less explicit level, the speaker's description of her clothes highlights another, deeper similarity between the twins. Each one plays a role: the role of the rock star and the role of the nun. They are each in some ways performing a persona, using clothes and props to help construct an image. While the uniforms they wear are different, the role of the uniform in enhancing their respective performances is essential.
Throughout this poem, Duffy has made use of wordplay and juxtaposed two dissimilar lexicons—that of the church and that of rock music. This comes to a head with the speaker's analysis of the word "Graceland." Graceland is the name of Elvis Presley's well-known estate, making it initially surprising when the speaker claims to see her own convent as a "Graceland." However, she goes on to explain that the convent deserves such a title because it is a "land of grace." In the Christian tradition, grace can mean broadly forgiveness, mercy, or generosity. This suggests that the speaker views her convent as a kind of refuge from a punishing outside world. Whereas this outside world led her brother to both greatness and suffering, the "land of grace" at the convent leads the speaker, who is so closely identified with Elvis, to a life of safety and calm. Moreover, it may be that she views the convent as a place of "grace" for her late brother. After all, earlier in the poem, she explains that she prays for him (or, at least, for the "immortal soul" of rock music). In the convent, in other words, the speaker hopes to create a space of grace and redemption for not only herself but also her sibling.
In fact, by the poem's end, Duffy makes clear that the twins are in some ways inseparable despite their differences and indeed despite the fact that one is dead while the other is alive. The speaker reiterates that she is "alive and well," seemingly a juxtaposition with her brother, who is no longer living, and who, infamously, was unwell prior to his death. However, to explain this, the speaker still uses quotations and metaphors pulled from Presley's music. Even when seeming to enumerate the things that separate them, the speaker ends up putting their ties on display.
